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Valtanc-80
The Valtanc-80 is an East Valreșian main battle tank designed during the 1970s. Development With the introduction of the T-72 into Soviet service in 1973, the Valreșian People's Ground Forces released a request for a new indigenous tank to improve the country's armoured forces. This programme resulted in two development paths, one for the Valtanc-78 and another for the Valtanc-80, with both receiving substantial aid from Chinese engineers. A prototype of the Valtanc-80 was completed in 1978 and underwent testing the next year, with the tank entering service in 1980. Design The Valtanc-80 is powered by a 1,000 hp V12 diesel engine with an integrated hydraulic gearbox, giving it a top speed of 65 km/h on roads. It has a crew of three consisting of the driver, commander, and gunner, located in the front left of the hull, right side of the turret, and left side of the turret respectively. The commander and gunner have a combined infra-red sight. The tank has rubber-shoed tracks on twelve rubber-ridged roadwheels, and can climb obstacles 0.9 m tall, cross trenches 2.6 m wide, and ford water 1.2 m deep. The main gun is a 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore which is stabilised in two axes. Secondary armament comes in the form of a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and a 12.7 mm machine gun mounted on the top of the turret. The main gun is equipped with an autoloader and the tank has a fire control system with a ballistic calculator. The gun can fire APFSDS-T, shaped charge, high explosive, armour piercing with tracer, and target practice rounds. The armour is made from rolled homogenous steel, with the turret being cast and the hull being welded. Fire suppression and NBC protection systems are included as standard features. Diesel can be injected into the exhaust of the tank to create thick smoke and provide concealment. Modernisation In 1991 the Valreșian General Staff and the Ministry of Defence began a modernisation programme for the Valtanc-80, with the new tank being designated the Valtanc-80M1 Mistrețul (The Boar). Two prototypes were built in 1993. The armour of the Valtanc-80M1 has a maximum thickness of 200 mm on the hull and 340 mm on the turret including 20 mm of add-on armour on the front of the turret which gives it a triangular profile. Side skirts are also present which protect against shaped charges. There is also an additional mine protection plate and a bar for the driver, increasing protection against mines and improvised explosive devices. Unlike on the standard Valtanc-80 where the driver's seat is bolted on the floor of the tank, the Valtanc-80M1 has a parachute-harness like arrangement in which the driver does not have any contact with the hull except on the pedals and hence is out of the shockwave area of exploding land mines or IEDs. The Valtanc-80M1 has two six-barreled 81mm smoke grenade launchers and two four-barrelled flare launchers mounted on the turret which can be automatically activated by laser illumination warning sensors, disrupting the guidance systems of thermal and infrared guided missiles. Operational history With the long estimated development time of the new Valtanc-2000 main battle tank, the Valreșian People's Ground Forces opted to purchase upgraded versions of the Valtanc-80 during the 1990s as a stop gap measure to fill in the inventories of the Valreșian tank forces. Variants *'Valtanc-80' - Basic model produced from 1980 until 1984 *'Valtanc-80M1 Mistrețul' - Modernised version produced from 1996 until present Operators *'East Valreșia' **Valreșian People's Ground Forces - 376 Valtanc-80 and 54 Valtanc-80M1 See also *Valtanc-78 Category:Valreșia Category:Military of the Valreșias